This application claims the priority of German Patent Application 100 42 408.2, filed in Germany, Aug. 30, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to an internal-combustion engine, preferably for a motor vehicle, having auxiliaries, which auxiliaries comprise, for example, a generator and a water pump.
In the case of a known internal-combustion enginexe2x80x94U.S. Patent Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,881xe2x80x94of the initially mentioned type, several auxiliaries are arranged on the exterior side of a housing of this internal-combustion engine. Thus, a water pump is mounted on a longitudinal side of the housing; a generator is mounted adjacent to a front end of the above-mentioned housing.
In German Patent Document DE 41 21 263 C2 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,293), several auxiliaries are arranged above one another on a longitudinal side of an internal-combustion engine housing and are fastened on this housing by means of holding brackets mounted at a distance from one another. The drive of the auxiliaries takes place by means of a wrap-around drive from a crankshaft of the internal-combustion engine.
It is an object of the invention to construct auxiliaries of an internal-combustion engine in an easily mountable manner and to arrange them in a spatially advantageous manner on a housing structure of the internal-combustion engine.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by an internal-combustion engine for a motor vehicle having auxiliaries which comprise a water pump and a generator, which water pump and generator are arranged on an exterior side of a housing structure of the internal-combustion engine, wherein the water pump and the generator form a constructional unit which is connected with housing structure of the internal-combustion engine.
Additional features of preferred embodiments of the invention described herein and in the claims.
Important advantages achieved by means of the invention are that the constructional unit, which is formed by the generator and the water pump, can have a compact design and can therefore be mounted in a perfect manner on the internal-combustion engine, specifically with a relatively small space requirement. In this case, the constructional unit can be constructed as a prefabricated module whose mounting on the housing of the internal-combustion engine is simple.
Known materials, particularly metallic materials, and manufacturing processes, for example, casting, are suitable for producing the receiving housing for the auxiliaries. The water pump, which can be driven by means of a spur gear drive by the crankshaft, is surrounded by the receiving housing according to the function. The bearing sections for the generator are expediently constructed as a component of the receiving housing and ensure not only that it is easy to mount but also, as required, can be adjusted with respect to the belt tension.